Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a hinged closure moulded in closed position and a container suitable to be used with the hinged closure according to the preamble of the independent claim.
Discussion of Related Art
From the state of the art screw caps e.g. drinking bottles made of polyethylene (PET) and bottles made of glass are known. One disadvantage of these closures is that a lot of physical strength is necessary to open and to close them. Besides this, the known screw cap closures are in general difficult to mould due to the thread on the inside which often causes problems in demoulding. A further disadvantage is that the screw caps cannot be operated single handed and after opening the cap has to be held separately.
From EP 1 147 054 a hinged closure with a hinge moulded in closed position is known. Although this closure shows significant improvements over the closures known from the state of the art, due to the arrangement of the hinge, the lid cannot be moved completely out and away from the orifice as it would be desired while drinking directly out of a bottle. The hinge of such a closure is arranged at an angle with respect to the main axis of the closure such that the hinges, made of thin plastic films, are accessible in the mould from above and from below.
EP 0 532 471 shows a hinged closure moulded in a closed position. The conventional type of hinge incorporated in this closure has a single band of plastic which forms a direct connection between the lower part, the body, and the upper part, the lid. Particularly due to the main hinge connection the lid cannot be moved out and away from the orifice such that drinking from the bottle is not possible. This type of closures was therefore never used for drinking bottles. The only known application is a niche product on a bottle for cooking oil in France.
From EP 0 309 369 a plastic closure having a lower part (body) and an upper part (lid) is known, that can be produced in a closed condition. The upper part is connected to the lower part by a main film hinge connection such that the upper part moves on a circular path with respect to the lower part. The upper part has, on its inner side, an extending portion with projecting sealing elements which form, with the outlet of a container, a sealing connection. The upper part is additionally connected with the lower part in a pivoting manner by a spring element. The spring element is connected with the upper part by a film hinge, and connected with the lower part by a film hinge. For purposes of opening, the film hinge connecting the upper part and the lower part is bent. Due to the small opening angle and the disadvantages of a main hinge connection between the closure parts this closure concept is not suitable e.g. for beverage containers.
A further closure moulded in closed position is known from FR 2 715 381 . This closure does have a dead hinge without snap action which is based on two plastic bands which are twisted while opening or closing of the closure. The mould utilization factor is relatively low due to the large diameter of the closure. A further disadvantage is the small opening angle.
Closures for drinking bottles are products which are extremely under pricing pressure. The price is mainly determined by the material used per closure, the cycle time for manufacturing and the mould utilization factor, which is mainly determined by the space which a closure requires in a mould. In general hinged closures are manufactured in an open position, requiring therefore more space than closures which are injection moulded in a closed position. The mould utilization factor of a closed moulded closure is mainly determined by the base area, respectively the diameter. A closure with a vertically arranged side wall does therefore have a better mould utilization factor than a closure with an inclined side wall. Best mould utilization factors are achieved with closures having cylindrical side walls.